Discussion

looking for hip cafe for morning coffee in Oakland

A 20-something yr old relative is coming to visit, and wants to have coffee in Oakland before we head off to lunch with a lot of folks. I'm thinking something Oaklandish, not upscale. Perhaps downtown Oakland? Perhaps Temescal? Perhaps the produce district?

parking on the st is a plus. (meters ok)

I haven't been to REmedy. What's that like? Is Lukas open to having people just sit and have coffee?

Pizzaiolo at Telegraph just south of 51st. Opens at 8, great coffee and pastries (or levain toast with excellent preserves), wooden booths, lots of street parking (meters on Telegraph, unmetered spaces on 51st and on adjacent streets).

I think Remedy has by far the best coffee (both drip and espresso) of the bunch that people have mentioned -- pretty small space, definite hipster vibe (which can be a plus or a minus). Good scones! If your relative is super into coffee, this is probably the best bet. I like it.

Pizzaiolo would be a good choice if you want a quiet place to converse. It's a restaurant that serves coffee and donuts in the mornings, not a cafe. The couple times I've been there in the morning there haven't been too many people around. It's not an especially happening place during the day. But the coffee and pastries are pretty good.

Boot and Shoe is a good choice if it's a nice day out and you want to snag an outside table. Inside, you're sitting on stools at a narrow counter facing a brick wall. The coffee (Sightglass) isn't bad, but there are only two drip options (a standard blend and one single-origin option -- as opposed to Remedy, which will have at least three or four choices), if that's something that matters to you.

Nothing really noteworthy downtown, coffee-wise. There's Awaken Cafe (which I guess has switched over to serving Four Barrel coffee), but they're just a cart right now while they set up their new space.

I went to Pizzaiolo for coffee and donuts a few weeks ago, after not having been there in the morning for over a year. I was surprised at how busy it was! It was packed, they were slammed and it felt like quite the hipster scene. Took a long time to get coffee, but if you're 20-something it would probably be fun. (I was chasing a toddler around and it was a little less fun).

Huh, good to know -- I haven't been for a long time either. Doesn't make me want to rush back, especially with Remedy right down the street. If I want to deal with that kind of a jam, I guess I'd rather go to, you know, an actual cafe. Those donuts are great, though.